Console Corner: It’s the smartest Singstar yet

Damien Lucas

The 10th anniversary edition of Singstar –Ultimate Party! – has discovered the key to truly social gaming.

Leveraging the social features of PlayStation network, SingStar is now more community focused and inclusive than ever before, reinventing the classic experience.

Singstar Ultimate Party is the smartest yet, quite literally

One of my pet peeves about this kind of game in the past is the accessories you need which end up cluttering up your living room.

Singstar does away with all that and in one fell swoop makes gameplay even more accessible to pick-up-and-play, introducing a new companion app that instantly turns a smartphone or tablet into a microphone.

It also allows the gamer to create and manage their own playlists.

The choice of songs on Ultimate Party is a decent mix of both genres and tempos and even if like me you sound like a cat being strangled, it is almost irresistable to get involved and enjoy a singalong.

The Playstation camera records you in all your cringeworthy glory as you turn your front room into a dodgy X-Factor audition set which makes for some hilarious clips to share straightto social media and even on Youtube if you’re brave enough.

The Singstar store offers various compilations to suit most music tastes and eras and ensures the party never stops as the initial tracklist will inevitably be worn out.

I used my Samsung S5 with the Singstar app and the microphone was responsive and sound quality very clear.

This is perfect for family fun or keeping the kids entertained (it’s got the Frozen song on it so is worth getting for that alone if you have kids of that age).

Singstar has been accused of being a ‘lazy update to the franchise’ in some quarters but the addition of the app brings it singing and dancing into a new era. The main downside is the omission of the popular Pass the Mic, Duets, Medleys and even Online Battle modes in favour of solo and two-player singalong contests.

Tracks are also pretty expensive too at £1.15 each but all-in-all its a great game to own for quick blasts and party fun.